Alternative pop artist Veera Lummi has returned with her debut EP, “LIMINAL,” set for release on December 1st. Following the success of singles “Paralysed” and “Liminal,” she adds three more enchanting tracks to her catalog, including a Royce Wood Junior remix of “Clarity.” The EP takes the listener through Lummi’s rich compositional talents, weaving her ethereal vocals with cinematic strings, emotive synths, and electronic samples. “LIMINAL” explores themes of self-reflection, rebirth, and hope. Comparisons can be made to the likes of Björk, James Blake, Holly Walker, Sampha, and Jamie Woon.
Born in Finland and currently based in London, Lummi is no stranger to the industry. She has had an extensive career as a composer for both film and television, explaining her knack for immersive production and gorgeous orchestration. With inspiration from Scandinavian artists such as Björk, Lummi has paved her own path in marrying contemporary electronic principles with full soundscapes, landing in the “experimental pop” sphere beautifully. In fact, her childhood immersed in melancholic Finnish schlager and Finnish folk laid the groundwork for her interest in the likes of Björk and Four Tet. “I kept on playing Piazzola and singing Bulgarian choir music while expanding my CD collection with quirky electronics and pop,” she shares.
Her “subtle, dreamy scores” were featured in the film “Burning Gold” (Berlin Commercial Award shortlist) and “Crossing Tracks” (Tromso International Film Festival selection). “12 Seconds of Light,” Lummi’s string quartet, was featured by BBC3, BBC6, and Finnish YLE1. BB6’s Deb Grant and Tom Ravenscroft were particularly fond of her track “Paralysed,” a montage of layered beats and futuristic synth pads featured on the EP. Staggered, harmonized vocals build up the last chorus as Lummi urges the listener to break into a new way of thinking. “Maybe it’s the mind that needs exercise to imagine a new sky,” she sings.
Haunting melodies and orchestral breakdowns on the first track “Until the Calmness” set the scene for the EP perfectly. Self-described as “quirky grooves with scandi melancholy,” the track was born from a chance encounter between Lummi and sulfur springs near Rome. She shares, “That intense smell and those
beautiful delicate bubbles seemed like a perfect description of how I was feeling. Something
was rising from deep within and I needed to get to the place where the bubbles were emerging from.” After a long wander and encountering a 6-leaf clover, the chorus for the track began to cement itself in her mind. Pushed to record, “Until the Calmness” was created as an ode to surrender and new beginnings.
Title track “Liminal” shows Lummi’s great experimental talents, marrying innovative synth pads with lullaby-like vocals that carry the listener away as she beckons them to, “Rest where right meets left.” New track “Sorry for What” is one of the downtempo, reflective pieces on the EP. The chorus still bursts into colorful strings as she insists, “We can’t keep forming until we can subside.”
Lummi’s description of “Until the Calmness” could perhaps be used as an artist’s statement on the EP as a whole. “It's about surrendering to the unknown,” she shares, “being with the discomfort and trusting that it will flush through.”
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